Mutual Destruction
by teno-hikari
Summary: Their relationship wasn’t a story book romance, it was a secret that would destroy the lovers. Lies. Betrayal. Death. ‘Happily Ever After’ isn’t meant for those who doom themselves.


**Mutual Destruction**

**Written By: **Teno Hikari

**Summary:** Their relationship wasn't a story book romance. It was a secret that would destroy the lovers. Lies. Betrayal. Death. 'Happily Ever After' isn't meant for those who doom themselves.

**Disclaimer:** The Teen Titans belong to DC comics, Warner Bros., J. Torres, Todd Nauck, and everyone BUT me.

**Warning:** spoilers for ALL of season two (with an alternate universe twist of course). Swearing. Adult situations. Violence. Mature readers only.

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Robin was not a believer in love at first sight. In fact, the first time he had laid eyes on her, he saw the girl as something else. At first a damsel in distress, running away from a monstrous threat that no ordinary person could handle alone. He and his teammates were proven wrong when she turned to fight the monster... and won. He automatically knew the seemingly innocent girl was not who she seemed to be. Sure she was lively character. She was pretty.

Pretty, in mother nature's handbook, could also be poisonous.

Terra had called herself a hero. Automatically gaining the trust of three of his team mates. All except for Raven and himself. They knew better. Instincts warned him something was amiss. Something just didn't feel right, but it was already too late when they invited the stranger into their home.

She was a drifter with amazing powers. They didn't know anything about her. Where she came from, why she left. They didn't even know her last name. But still they were willingly to give her a chance. Even when he came to the conclusion that she was unable to control those earth moving powers. He still wanted to help... perhaps stating this in front of the entire team had been a bad idea.

Lashing out at Beast Boy, she turn and fled. Running again... running to whom? Robin wasn't sure if he wanted to think about that any further. But Terra was back in their lives now, in full control of her powers and... with him now.

A knock on his door quickly broke him away from his thoughts. Strange how he was thinking less of Slade now and more about Terra. Careful, he cautioned himself, careful. Moving away from his desk, Robin answered the door about to tell Beast Boy that he wasn't hungry for tofu burgers-

- Until he met those blue eyes.

"Hey!" Terra greeted with a small smile. "Busy?"

Before Robin could even answer, the new Titan entered without a word. Crossing the room, she flopped down on his neatly made bed and smirked back at him as he still stood at the door. He glanced back at her, then to the empty door way, and then back at her again before closing it.

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed. Approaching the girl as she sat Indian style on his bed, plucking one of his pillows. "The others-"

"Aren't here," she finished reaching out to grab his arm. His anger melted a little after hearing that, letting the girl pull him closer towards the bed. "The guys went grocery shopping. So we have the whole Tower to ourselves for at least a few hours. You all right?"

"This... this is sudden, that's all."

"Do you want me to leave?"

Resting his weight on either side of the bed, he looked down at the girl laying beneath him. He could see his reflection in those sea blue eyes. Could see himself lost in another obsession as he leaned down to delicately press his lips to her own. Those hands that could command the earth to split apart, were now threading through his hair.

Neither teenager broke contact as they kicked off most of their garments to the side of the bed, and crawled under it's covers. The kiss deepened. What had once started out as gentle, had grown into something passionate. Soft lips parted, allowing him access as he explored the warm cavern of her mouth. He did the same and she eagerly took obliged, lightly running her nails down his back. Finally they broke away for air, their hands intertwined together while holding each other close.

He could remember the moment they both realized their mutual fascination. The odd sense of knowing without knowing why, or the awakening of something new. Something wonderfully forbidden.

No words were exchanged between them. In fact they hardly spoke at all to begin with. Even less than before since the two now lived together in the same building. Sometimes, when the others weren't looking - they would sneak glances at one another. But nothing more than that. It was awkward... and yet thrilling. Certainly not words they would use to explain to their team mates... if the couple ever planned to tell them.

They weren't officially "boyfriend and girlfriend". They didn't write each other secret love letters. They didn't go on dates. It wasn't a real relationship. All they had...was... was this physical interaction and the aftermath were they lay together and contemplated.

"You really need to re-decorate."

"Hmm?"

Robin opened one of his eyes as he stared at the blonde curled up in his arms. She smiled up teasingly at him, her golden hair fanned out across his chest. Raising a hand, she gestured to his newspaper clipping covered walls.

"It's kind of creepy," she told him. "How do you sleep with his face all around you?"

He was at lost for words. Of course, she hadn't known all the details between him and his arch enemy. Robin remembered the vague description Beast Boy had given her: 'Bad guy, REAL bad guy.' He shouldn't have let her come, she wasn't even part of the team then.

Slade had done something to her that day, but she was terrified. Her eyes were lighted up with golden glow of her power, and they were filled with tears. What had the bastard said to Terra to make her react in such a way?

As if sensing his thoughts, she sat up a little, straddling his waist. Meeting one another's gaze, Robin froze when he felt her fingers absently brush up against the side of his mask. He held his tongue, recognizing defeat when he saw it. The only way she would answer his questions, was if he answered hers. A stalemate.

Reaching up, he grasped the blonde's hand tightly and pulled it safely away. Upon seeing Terra wince, Robin unconsciously brought her hand to his lips. Lightly kissing the knuckle. A rosy blush tinged her cheeks when he let go, and she drew back a little to cradle it as if his touch burned.

Suddenly both teens practically jumped up and out of bed as they heard a loud knock at the door. Terra was trembling, with the bed sheets wrapped around her. While Robin quickly pulled up his pants.

"Who is it?" he called out, making sure the door was locked for a hundredth time. Just in case.

"Dude, it's me!" Beast Boy called out from the hallway.

Both Robin and Terra glanced at each other and winced. The young green shape shifter and Starfire were the last two on the team who wouldn't take the discovery of their 'relationship' well. Of course the truth would have to come out sooner or later. Though 'sooner' wasn't now, and they avoided the 'later' like the plague.

Nodding for Terra to hurry up and dress as he did the same. "Y-yeah?"

"We got pizza for dinner, you hungry? Come down and get some before Cye eats it all!"

Well he was feeling hungry after... 'that'. Robin finished putting on the top part of the uniform and was now awkwardly hopping around on one foot as he put on his boots. All the while, Terra was trying to stifle her laughter.

"S-Sure!" he called back, shooting her a small glare. "Be right down!"

"'Kay - Oh! Have you seen, Terra? She's not in her room."

Glancing back at his the girl, he saw that the color had quickly drained from her face. It was understandable, considering Beast Boy's obvious feelings towards her. Fidgeting, the earth mover gestured for him to make something up as she put on her gloves.

"She went out for a walk," he lied, finally pulling on his other boot with less difficulty. "Though she should be back any minute now..."

"Ahh! Okay, well see you in a few then."

Hearing the younger boy's retreating footsteps, Robin turned to see Terra standing by an open window. Letting the cool night breeze dry her damp hair. Frowning slightly, he retrieved a clean towel from his dresser and handed it to her. After a few moments of hesitation, she accepted.

Her skin was still pale, and he wondered if she was coming down with something. Gently he placed his hands on her shoulders, "Something wrong?"

Terra reached up, without looking back, rested her hand over one of his own. Leaning back against him, she was silent for a long time. Again, not unusual. But it was the first time he was worried.

Hesitantly he asked, "Are you all right?"

Her muscles tensed under his grasp and she shook her head violently before whirling to face him. Suddenly, she was in the Titan leader's arms, sobbing quietly into his chest. Stunned, all he could do was reach forward and wrap an arm around her.

"Terra?"

She mumbled something he couldn't understand.

"H-Huh?"

She shook her head again, placing an index finger over his lips. Her voice was soft against Robin's throat. Barely audible.

"Never mind," she repeated. "I... I'm sorry. Please... don't hate me."

"What? Why would I...?"

Before he knew, she was outside looking back in. Her feet touching down on a small chunk of the land that was now hovering before his eyes. He blinked in confusion, as she dropped his towel on the window pane.

"I'm so sorry, Robin."

And then she was gone.

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At dinner, everything seemed perfectly normal. The Titans were gather around the sofa, talking and laughing (with the exception for Raven of course) even after their encounter with Slade's henchmen that afternoon. Robin hadn't even given the robbery attempt much thought as he should have. All he could think about was... how close Beast Boy was sitting next to his lover.

His lover... how the hell did it come to this?

What had she tried to tell him before leaving his room?

She was sorry?

Don't hate her?

Was it over?

Were they over?

Dammit! Why did he feel this way all of a sudden?

Upon going back to his room as the team turned in for the night, he saw Beast Boy walk up to Terra's bedroom door. Quickly the Boy Wonder took cover in the shadows and watched. The changeling was nervously presenting Terra a heart shaped box he had made himself. Robin frowned, he had never given anything to the girl despite how long their affair had went. Beast Boy had gone stiff all of a sudden after Terra presented the gift.

'Oh, God,' Robin thought worriedly. 'Beast Boy is gonna ask her out.'

The older teenager couldn't watch the scene anymore, as he spun on his heel and stormed back to his room. It was over between them, and he was a fool. Though had Robin looked back, he would have heard his friend being rejected. Would have seen Terra's eyes spotting his retreating form, pleading for him not to go.

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"Well, it looks like we won."

Cyborg gazed dejectedly at the battlefield which had been the living room. Scattered across the floor were broken remains of their belongings and the robotic limbs of the enemy. Everything was in ruin, not just things they could easily replace like furniture.

Standing beside the larger teenager, Starfire bowed her head. "Then why does it not feel like a victory?"

The Titans had lost something very valuable to them that night. They had lost their team mate... or someone they believed was an ally, a friend. No, she was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and she had fooled everyone.

After seeing Beast Boy at Terra's door the other night. He went to his room for a little bit and tried to get back to work. But he had lost his focus for the night and went to talk to her ... only to find Terra gone... along with Beast Boy. They had gone on their date after all. Feeling like a bigger fool than before, Robin went to the only place where he could take out his frustration: the training room. Problem was, when he got there, he wasn't alone.

Several pairs of glowing eyes watched him in the darkness. The Titan leader had been so wrapped up in his thoughts with Terra, he hadn't noticed. Had not have had enough time to sound the alarm and warn his friends of the invasion.

"I knew it! We never should have trusted her!" Raven snapped, glaring at the chuncks of concrete that had been apart of a wall. There were only a selective few whom the sorceress found deserving of her trust. And they all lived right in this building, including Terra.

"But we did," their leader spoke up. "We all did."

Robin could relate to Raven's feelings. Inside he felt hollow, as if with earth mover's departure, she had stole something very important from him. No, he thought, it couldn't be his heart. What they had... it was nothing. It didn't mean anything to her, why should it to him?

Grinding a pebble under his steel-toed boot, he listened as the others made their security report. Followed by Raven's statement how the traitor had not given just information about the Titans, no indeed she had give them to him. Their flaws and weaknesses.

Apprentice, Beast Boy had heard that was the Slade had called her. He felt sick to his stomach, wondering how much Terra would tell her 'master'. Especially what went on between the two when the other Titans weren't around.

He wondered if they were laughing about the whole situation now. Laughing at how gullible they were... especially at him.

"It doesn't matter." Robin stepped away once he ground the pebbles into dust. "When Slade makes his next move. We'll be ready for him."

"And... Beast Boy?" Cyborg asked with concern. The changeling who was in Terra's room, the last time Robin had checked on him. He had taken the form of a whimpering dog, curled up around the present he had given their former team mate.

"He will be...all right?" Star added.

All right? The masked boy doubted it. He felt incredibly guilty, for keeping another huge secret from his friends. Robin had planned to tell Beast Boy the whole truth... to prove that the person of their affections was not as they seemed. But when he saw his friend in such a pitiful state, he couldn't bare to do it. Another betrayal may destroy him, and maybe the rest of the team.

"He just needs a little time."

He tried to sound confident on the outside. Wanting to believe his friend would be up and about in no time. Telling jokes again, trying to make them all laugh. Just a little time. Robin could only hope.

For Beast Boy... and himself.

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Speeding down the road on his R-Cycle, Robin tried to contact his team mates for the hundredth time that night. After watching Starfire shot and plunge to her death, he had went into shock. Barely even acknowledging the sound of Terra's cruel laughter as she and Cinderblock made their escape.

Using their communicators, he had traced the other Titans down to the locations Robin had ordered them. There had been a prison break for the three super human criminals: Plasmas, Cinderblock, and Overload. The Teen Titans played divide and conquer before. He had been confident his team could handle it.

He should have known it had all been a trap. That yet again, everything had gone as the mastermind, Slade, had wanted. But he knew now, and the price for his failure as a leader had been paid in the lives of his friends.

Raven had drowned in a pool of mud, covered in it from head to toe as he pulled her out. Robin saw that her eyes were still open as he laid her body on the concrete. As far as he knew, Overload didn't possess any geo-kinetic abilities. Swallowing back the bile burning in his throat, he knew this had to be Terra's work.

The same had gone for Beast Boy and Cyborg at the factory. He hadn't found her bodies, but saw a large crack in the ground. Where the earth had split apart and unnaturally came together again. Either could have died by being crushed or through asphyxiation.

Too many emotions all at once. Grief and anger were of course there. Grief for his friends, and anger towards himself. He just couldn't function for several minutes, kneeling on the ground with a hand resting over tiny opening of two of his friends' resting place.

They all had deserved better than this. Better funerals. Better lives. A better leader. Growling under his breath, he punched the ground underneath him, wishing the traitorous earth mover could feel it. Terra. Moping wasn't going to solve anything. He couldn't allow himself to be consumed by the loss of his friends... not when he had to avenge them.

Standing up, he went to go hunt down former lover.

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It hadn't taken long to track Slade's new apprentice. She was actually quite close to the factory after killing his two team mates. Just casually strolling down the hill as he maneuvered his motorcycle to speed towards his target, planning to catch his former ally by surprise. He jumped the girl before she even had a chance to raise her hands in defense.

"Don't move," he hissed, pinning Terra to the ground with one arm twisted behind her back. Robin applied pressure, knowing he could snap the limb like a twig right then.

She glanced at him passed her shoulder and smiled despite the discomfort. "What's the matter, Robin? Lonely since I picked off all your friends?"

"They were your friends too!" he practically shouted in her ear. "What did we ever do to make you hate us so much?"

It was a question, he been trying to answer himself for several days after learning her true affiliation. When she left, it took time for the Titans to carry on as if nothing had happened. As if Terra had never existed. A workaholic all over again, he paid for that mistake with a fractured arm trying to take down Johnny Rancid. Yet the question still lingered and permeated into his conscious mind whenever he passed her room. Or even when he was in his own for too long.

"You. Were. Born!"

Watching her blue eyes glow amber had taken the Boy Wonder by surprise as the ground erupted under his feet. Separating the two. Robin leapt backwards, landing on his feet as he watched Terra do the same. There eyes met again, but it was so very different from time they spent in one another's arms. So alien to him... could this really be happening?

"I promised Beast Boy I would give you a second chance," he told her. Terra made no response as the girl stood up. It was as if she could see through his mask now. She seem to stare straight through his mask, challenging him to make the first move.

"...And that was it!"

The last real Titan broke into a run, catching her by surprise as he attacked. Robin had never hit a girl before, at least not on purpose. There was a time when he wanted to. Being blackmailed by Killer Moth's equally deranged daughter, Kitten, to take her to prom just to get back at her boyfriend. One of the most humiliating nights of his life. But this time was different. He couldn't see Terra as a girl, as an innocent. He saw her for what she was now: Slade's apprentice. A fearsome enemy. Evil. She was more like Slade than he ever could be.

Terra was momentarily caught by surprise, bringing up her arms to block the other's assault. Those once gentle hands that had lovingly held her close, were now bruising her. Gritting her teeth, Terra could feel them forming underneath her suit. Finally she broke down her guard and took offense. No words were exchanged between the two as they fought. Just grunts and the sound of fists flying and connecting.

Robin saw an opening and quickly took advantage of it. Catching Terra's outstretched arm and yanking her off her feet. He threw her away as if she weighed nothing.

Enraged, Terra caught herself and landed on her feet. She may not have been a martial art and acrobat expert like Robin, but Slade had taught her a few tricks in sparring. The soil stirred under her feet, before she was suddenly pulled forward. Delivery a kick that sent the young man skidding backwards.

Landing quickly, she rushed Robin, mimicking his technique. Her blows aimed at his guarded head, forcing him back. Striking with as much ruthless fury as he had. Not as fast though, when Robin grabbed her wrist and swung around like a rag doll.

Terra hit the fence hard, and held in place by Robin bone crushing grip. "Look at yourself, Terra!" he demanded, shoving her harder against chain link fence. Looking at their reflection in the large window on the other side. "Is this really what you want to be!"

Growling, she dropped her resistance for a brief moment - staring at her wide eye reflection behind the wire mesh. She could see the white slits of her once lover's mask glare in disgust. With strength the frail looking girl didn't know she possessed, she quickly reversed their positions. Slamming Robin, face forward, into the fence as she had been.

"I'm just never gonna be good enough for you, am I!"

Pressing her weight into him, she leaned close to whisper into his ear. "But it was good wasn't it? What was I to you 'a good time' before you moved on to Star? Or maybe Raven?"

Robin couldn't believe his ears. Or the fact that his body had stopped functioning as her warm breath brushed against his ear. Her lips mere centimeters away from his skin. Shit! No! He didn't want her anymore. He loathed her as much as she him. Didn't he?

"What are you talking about!" he snapped. His anger rekindled, glaring at their reflection. "I never moved on to anyone! And don't you dare pin this on me. You chose to betray us. You chose to end us. You chose to commit murder. You don't get to feel mad about it!"

Robin kicked one of his legs up, finding leverage on the fence, he did a back flip over Terra who could no longer hold him. Sensing the Boy Wonder behind her, she raised herself up high on a rocky pedestal. "I'm not mad," she said simply. Moving in as he began to retreat.

He did another back flip and through an explosive disk at the rocky pedestal under her feet. The top part exploded in a cloud of dirt, knocking the girl off. Her control broken, both teens stared in horror as the rocks came raining down

'NO!' a voice screamed in the back of his head as he darted forward. 'NO! I can't lose another one! I can't lose her!'

Shielding her slighter body with his own. He waited for the impact, hoping his cape would be able to take most of the damage. All the while he was cradling the girl underneath him as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

The impact never came as Terra had ceased falling debris' movement. Commanding the rocks to hover in mid air above them. Slowly she sat up, and stared at him incredulously. For a moment, they forgot their situation. Forgot about being enemies and fighting one another.

Gently he reached out and brushed the long locks of hair covering the side of her face away. Tucking the blonde veil behind her ear, he leaned forward to lightly brush his lips against her own. A hundred alarms were going off in his mind. This was wrong.

'This was so damn wrong... that it was actually…'

Terra kissed him.

'... Right.'

Without warning, she launched herself at him - causing both teens to role safely away as the rocks eventually came down. Neither of them cared as one gentle kiss suddenly became several bruising ones. It was like that night several days. Their last night. Hands held together, fingers intertwined. Their bodies liquefied and melted against one another.

She ran her fingers over his hair. He remembered all the times before when she had done the same with such adoration. Well at least that was what he thought it was. Pulling away, he rained down light kisses over his lips and forehead.

"You don't belong with Slade," he said at last, pulling one of their clasped hands up. It was strange how his voice sounded unrecognizable to his own ears. Though the sound of his arch enemy's name did resonate a little more hatred than usual.

She frowned, pulling back. "You don't know anything about me, Robin."

Her words stung somehow. Passion and anger have gone, leaving him numb all over. His eyes followed her as she dusted herself off and stood, towering over him. But not for long, as he whipped out his bo staff. With one swing, he knocked the girl off her feet, and back onto the dirt covered ground.

"Oh, I think I do," he replied. Terra glared fiercely at the crime fighter who held the weapon dangerously close to her throat. "Look I was Slade's apprentice once. I got out, and so can you."

Though their situations were similar he knew they weren't the same. Robin doubted his former team mate had been blackmailed like he had. Two different reasons for dawning Slade's sigil and fighting at his side. He only wished he knew her's.

"I don't need saving."

"You can only save yourself."

Her glare intensified as she enunciated each word, "I. Don't. Need. Saving!" With that she delivered a double kick towards him, as a nearby rock broke his staff in two. Standing again, she watched him perform a few back flips before landing neatly in a crouch.

"I'm not some sad little girl waiting to be rescued," Terra informed him, walking menacingly toward the Titan leader. All the while the land underneath them shook louder with her approach.

Fissures suddenly tore through the land around and under their feet. Releasing strong currents of air, that nearly threw Robin backwards. Observing his struggle for balance, she commanded the fallen rocks around them to rise. Aiming one glowing hand at her prey, the struck. Hard and precise.

"Joining Slade was my choice," she said. Getting closer now, she could actually hear the sound of bones cracking. It made her sick to her stomach, but the earth mover continued her assault.

"I don't need to be saved."

CRACK

"I don't need to be a hero."

CRACK

"I don't need friendship."

CRACK

He finally fell to the ground, covered in numerous cuts and bruises. On his back he stared up at the girl who had somehow was everything to him. A team mate. A lover. A betrayer. As Terra raised a larger rock over him with both hands, he prepared himself for her be his executioner.

"And," she continued mercilessly. "I don't need you."

Then everything went black.

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"Robin, have you ever been in love before?"

The question roused the youth from his sleep, catching him by surprise. He let out a small yawn and stretched his limbs a little before He glanced down to the girl in his arms. She stared at him with curious blue eyes that peaked out from behind a disarray of sunny blonde hair.

"I don't know," he responded at last. Reaching out he combed the strands away from her delicate face. Terra rewarded her lover with a glare of annoyance, batting the hand away.

"So you're not sure?" Terra's tone was filled with uncertainty. "What about me? Do you love me?"

Robin sat up a little in bed, feeling mildly uncomfortable. Terra's bedroom felt like it had suddenly shot up a hundred degrees. His mouth felt parched all of a sudden, letting the three questions run around in his head.

What seemed like a small eternity he answered carefully.

"I... I don't think I know what love is."

The blonde deflated a little, lowering her head to lay against his chest. She closed her eyes while listening to her lover's soothing heart beat. "Yeah... me too."

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He awoke with a splitting headache and the wet sensation of something running down his face. Was it rain? No. Rain water didn't have that coppery metallic smell. Only blood could smell that way. Feeling as if they were sewed to his face, Robin struggled to open his eye lids. His vision was a wash of gray and red as he stared straight up into the night sky. No it wasn't night anymore, it looked close to dawn.

How long had he been unconscious? Days? According to his communicator's digital clock, it had only been a couple of hours.

As for the crimson pooling over his mask, he could identify it clearly as blood from an a head wound. After taking several minutes to collect himself, Robin made an attempt to sit up. A nauseating dizziness reminded him to move slowly.

Bringing a hand up to touch the head wound, Robin wondered why he was still alive in the first place. Observing his physical injuries, some would take time to heal. Nothing seemed to be broken... on the outside at least. Noticing that his 'Robin' badge was missing, he made a confusing conclusion.

Terra had let him live.

Not just then, but another earlier that day too. He had been detached after Star's death. It would have been easy to take him out then. Right when he would be helpless and unable to defend himself. But no, she had gone after his friends first. Even after the blow to the head, she must have known he was alive. Had it been Slade's order?

The Boy Wonder wasn't sure what to think of anymore. It was difficult as hell to determine a person's motivations when they kiss you one moment and attempt to kill you the next.

Once Robin had been able to stand, he wobbled over back to his motorcycle. Which had parked itself nearby when he jumped off to fight Slade's apprentice. Thank goodness for auto-driver feature, because the teen surely would have crashed into something on his way back to the Tower.

Just a little time.

'Deja vu,' he thought to himself. Glancing down at his blood stained gloves as they gripped the handle bars tightly. His thoughts focused on Terra again.

"You've destroyed me," he whispered out loud.

Just a little more time until he would be ready to fight again.

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A 'one man army', that was what he had been called at the Tournament of Heroes. When Slade had taken over the city, Robin had no choice but to live up to that title. After his wounds had healed enough, he went to work taking out android after android. Cutting down anything and anyone who stood in his path.

It had not been an easy task. He had the scars on his body to prove it. But he had overcome it all and finally confronted his arch enemy himself. But of course Slade hadn't been alone. Not when he had his puppet on such short strings.

She wasn't at all surprised to see him. In fact there was no emotion on the pretty girl's face whatsoever. Eyes vacant and glazed over, she fought with him as if Slade really were controlling her body. No emotion. No words. She moved like a living doll.

Robin started to have doubts again. What the hell was going on?

"Terra," he called out to her. "Terra, can you hear me?"

Glancing up he saw the real puppet master standing on a platform above them. The bastard was probably enjoying this. Who knows how much he saw or heard during their last fight.

"It's no use, Robin," Slade answered his unspoken question. "Terra is mine completely now. Body and soul. Just as she had promised."

Terra stopped moving and hung forward just like a puppet. Arms, which were barely covered by her torn uniform, were dangling at her sides. Eyes staring blankly at her own feet.

"What have you done!"

The younger man leapt up to where Slade was standing, extended his new retractable staff.

"The suit that she wears had allowed me to control her nervous system," Slade explained casually. From his utility belt, the criminal mastermind pulled out his own weapon to do battle. "Unfortunately, she turned out to be another unruly apprentice. So I had no choice but to take complete control."

He bared his teeth at the other man as they circled. "So you turned your apprentice into a tool."

That single eye behind the steel mask watched his every move, before raising his staff to block Robin's swing. Slade continued to watch, especially the rage on the boy's face. He let out a small chuckle that startled his opponent.

"I was actually planning on offering you a deal, Robin."

Another blow deflected. Robin pushed forward, grinding his teeth together. "I want nothing from you, Slade."

"Not even her?"

"What?"

"An exchange, Robin," he began. "Reclaim your role as my apprentice again, and I'll let you keep her for your own."

The boy wonder barely managed to jump up and avoid a couple of swings directed at his legs. Robin leapt back, catching sight of Terra who remained in the same state. Was the man serious? Did he really believe Robin would turn on his ideals again? Would even consider keeping Terra as a play toy!

Slade slowly advanced towards him, weapon held at his side.

"So, what do you say?"

Grasping the weapon in his hands to the point where his knuckles under the gloves turned white, Robin sneered back at him. "I say, you're one sick bastard!"

Adrenalin pumping in his veins, he charged forward, driving Slade back like mad. It was the first time in their fights that the older man had taken the defensive that long. Until Robin kicked him off the platform.

The young crime fighter jumped down after him, eager to continue his attack. Hissing under the mask, Slade glared at the girl who simply stood motionless. Neither male noticed the single tear that trailed down her face.

"Apprentice!" he barked. "Finish him off!"

The last Teen Titan stopped in his tracks, cautiously watching Terra stand up once more. He prepared himself with a few razor-tipped bird- a-rangs. Those vacant blue eyes flared amber and Terra now stood between both Robin and Slade.

"No."

Dumbfounded, Robin lowered his hand, unsure what to do now. He thought she was a mindless puppet now, wasn't she? Those emotionless glowing eyes just stared back at him. All the while Slade's eye narrowed dangerously at the other teenager's back.

"I gave you an order, Terra," he snarled. "You will carry it out this time."

She screamed in agony as shock currents ran down her body. The glow was gone, and now Slade's apprentice was looking him straight in the eye. Tearfully pleading for him to use those sharp boomerangs and end her miserable existence right then and there.

Shaking his head, he let them fall to the ground.

"You can only save yourself," he reminded softly.

The girl looked down, and firmly planted her feet down to keep from moving another step. Taking a deep breath, she turned around quickly, glaring at her 'master'. A blinding light filled that cavernous chamber as she raised up her fists above her head.

"You... can't... control ... me... anymore!"

An earth quake tear open the entire room, immediately causing Slade to reel back. Robin managed to dodge some falling debris, but managed to watch the masked man plummet into the hellish red puddles below. Magma began to ooze forward out of the cracks and both teens could feel the oppressive heat on their skin.

A volcano. Terra had triggered a volcano right underneath the city!

They both had to get out of there now. Firing one of his grappling hooks to the top platform, Robin pulled his lover close, wrapping an arm around her waist as the device yanked them both up. Perspiration ran down alongside of his throat. He could hear lava currents begin to rise up just a several feet from underneath their dangling forms.

Finally grabbing a hold of the rail, he pulled them over the platform just before the rail broke. Too close for comfort. Spotting the exit that was nearly blocked by the falling ceiling, he tried to rush them toward it. The only problem was, Terra refused to move.

"What's wrong!" he shouted over chaos falling and rising around them. "We have to leave!"

Terra shook her head violently and pushed him away.

"I can't!" she shouted back. "The city- this is my fault! I'm the only one who can stop it!"

Robin stared at her in a mixture of fear and disbelief. Why, oh why, did she choose now to be a hero! It wasn't fair... he had just gotten her back. There was no way he was going to lose her now. No way. Thinking just that, he gave her a small but proud smile, reaching out to pull her close.

The earth mover gave the Titan a puzzled look.

"Robin! What are you doing! You have to get out of here now!"

Her yells had fallen on deaf ears, as The Boy Wonder reached up and removed his mask. Terra's eyes widen in belief and all verbal protests were cut off as she finally saw the entire face of her beloved. Letting the black mask fall carelessly from his gloveless hand, he reached out and stroked her cheek, wiping away a tear. She was shaking now, clinging onto him like a lifeline. Leaning forward, Robin gently claimed her lips in a scorching kiss.

Taking her hands into his own, there fingers interlaced for what they knew would be the last time. Debris was piling up all around them as they lake of fire seemed to be getting awfully close. The light of Terra's power escaped through the crevices between their fingers and he could feel it course through his own body.

The caverns were closing in all around them and it was getting harder to breathe with the volcanic fumes in the air. Time seemed to stand still for that moment. Terra leaned against the unmasked Boy Wonder, her watery amber power-infused stare silently asked the question once again.

Do you love me?

No words were given. They weren't necessary as her now normal sea blue eyes met his sky blue ones. Within them she found her answer.

Yes.

Everything was getting darker, and Robin tried to keep his balance as Terra rested exhaustedly in his arms. The Teen Titans were gone. Slade was gone. The city had been saved. All the last two heroes wanted to do now was rest... and just hold each other until the end of time.

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Author's Notes

OMG - I, Teno Hikari, wrote a heterosexual romance fic. The world may now commence with it's ending. Okay, why a Robin/Terra story? I have no idea. I like non-cannon pairings... then again, I also like slash. This plot bunny just chomped on my arm and wouldn't let go until 3am in the morning. So this is just a rough draft, but anyway, please review and tell me how much it sucked so I will never write another Het story again! I'll correct the errors when I get more sleep… zzzzz….


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